Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-07-30
A Place Where the Temperature Varies
Little During the Year.

4 HI Ok
A Place Where the Temperature Varie.
! Little During the Year.
SOME OF -HE SINGULAR THINGS ABOUT THE UNDER.
1 GROUND woRK-NEN WHO DRLvR IN TEE DARK.
| NEss-THE WALLS OF THE TUNNRL-A MISTAKE
SAID TO HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE FIRST sURvEYs.
There is a stretch OF about three miles through
the hills not far back from Boundary street where
the weather does not change five degrees during
the year. During the past two weeks, when the
thermometer has been over 100 In the shade
at times, and nearly 40 In the sun when the
people have been sweltertng and falling. overcome
oy the heat the Thermometer there has settled
down coolly TO enjoy its comfort at 60. People
there have sat down with light overcoats on to
eat their meals. Quite number Of people have
spent an tne DAY time IN this cool place during
the protracted hot spell, coming away only after
dark. The place, however. though near is not
very accessible TO the suffering citizens and is
not na9s popular summer resort II u located
oniy 6y means Of ana can ns reached
wells or shafts It Il therefore not convenient for
lauieS ana children, and 1t Is very dark and damp
come insensible. The men who stay there all day
long must nave small lamps fastened to their boot
tops or on their hats They cannot see each others
more than 100 feet away. they have been
LIVING UNDERGROUND
like moles, digging and grinding, and forcing
their way through the solid rock under the hills.
They laugh at the hot weather, and In the winter
time work In their shirt-sleevesL The thermome-
Ter stays always at about sixty degreeA One
would have TO travel many hundred miles before
he could nnd cooler place to spend the summer.
is colony OF underground workers. They are
bricklayers building brick walls, stonecutters
cropping away at the rock, and drillers, en-
surveyors are down there making surveys. the
only way 70 get access TO this resort is to put on
od clothes and 60 70 work. The men who are At
through there 10 cool and comfort the whole city.
Ihey have dug their way through for three milea
and now and then arched in with brick. When
tney finish tt up, 50 that there Is nothing more for
S % w Worx Upon they WIN desert y and It VIII
can draw at their will-even up In the third and
fourth stories OF their houses It Is the water
works tunnel!
"When go into the tunnel, said the civil engi-
neer In charge OF the work for the contractor, II
button my coat close about me and turn up the
days the difference In the temperature 10 80 great
tnaL chilis you right through: Itwould not doto
start down while In PRESENTATION, and IL IS safer
70 bundle up some II Is quite rapid cooling on,
from LEO to co. in two or three minutes! Il sounds
very nice, this sort of weather; but only those
temperature Stay down as little as possible.
In going down you md yourself dropping into
total darkness, except just around the little lamp
and If you are not used to 1t you thiuk you
are not going to be able to breathe. It makes
the theory that the earth Is hot nside but that is
because we have not gone deep enough. The un-
mel IS now cut all the way through, and
affected by the outside air. but all along we have
been dong the work the men have not known
the dln a renee, between summer and winter nor
situated as 70 be affected by the outer air q little
the lights on the mems hats can be seen at dis
flames, and they look like nre-ries or w1ll-o-the-
wisps moving mysteriOusly about back In the dark
cavern. In other places the air has been 80 bad
could toss stone. few feet away and they are
blanketed by the black soggy atmosphere and hid
from sight Near the drills the air is full OF stone
light 50 you can see the men at the drin they look
with the stone dust II they should lie down
among the debris they would not be distinguished
from the rocks They look like stone men gnaw-
ing away into the walls Of rock. You might
readily imagine that they belonged under ground
and suosisted on the rocks-a sort Of gent that
In their mysterious work.
GETTING PowIR IRON ooxYRRsaRp AIR.
The drilling Is done BY the power Of compressed
air, and air for breathing purposes is let in by
means OF hose attached to the air pipes. In this
work compressed air was for the nrst time con-
COMPRISING the air had always before been close
up TO the work. We conveyed the air In pipes
Tor long While There has BEEN pressy sayaSe
criticism on account OF the time that has been
consumed The COMPARISON with the New York
400 miles Of railroad can Be- laid Is quickly as 20.
So with the tunnel It u much easier to make an
excavation IKE that Of the New York tunnel than
York tunnel has a much larger heading. More
men can get to work. larger cars can be used to
IN time
Is insignificant. Besides, the New York work IS
given out to greater number Of contractors work.
character OF work. It takes uniformly about twelve
hours to make heading-tO get all drilling done
for blast. Here it took some times long as thir-
hours, and then there has TO be lot Of brick I'm
ing. The tunnel is all full OF patches, brick here
and rock there: 900 we have had had to make z small
back and enlarge 1t. Then the Government engfn.
GERS have had to inspect the rock to see where i'm
to be lined, then we had 10 90 back and trim it
out and enlarge IL. II the whole thing had been
lined throughout, as 1t ought TO be, the work
could have progressed much more rapidly. II we
could have known just what We were 70 do we
could have gone ahead with It. But no one on
earth could ten W WA sort OF rock we were going
we could hardly get through It; others was soft
and full OF assures. But In the very 1rst instance
the use Of buckets large enoSgn for rapid WorT.
In New York they can carry out yard at a time;
We could get only third OF yard DeGdes ali
this there was nearly year when we were not
working at all"
THE WALLS OF TIE TUNNBI.
"How about the walls OF the tunnel1" asked TIE
STAR reporter.
"There ought TO be brick lining throughout the
entire length. There are many places that have
not been lined where there are assures, and even
where the rock seems solid 1t may be only q few
inches thick. There was place near Rock Creek
where the rock seemed TO be perfectly 1rm, and
they were going TO pass 1t as good but Is they had
to line on both sides OF It they decided not to
make break for such q small space. When we
trimmed the solid rock 1t gave way and nearly q
barrel Of water came through. 1t proved 10 be one
OF the worst places In the tunnel, and IL was ct
such low point that had the water been turned
on IL could never have passed that point and
would have largely increased the volume OF Rock
Creek. There may be other places like this, and
there may be soft clay or rotten rock back OF some
OF the assures all through the tunnel When the
water IS turned ON the pressure will be something
tremendous. 1t will average hundred pounds 70
the square inch, and wherever there is weak
ness something must give way. The danger Is that
the water Will wash cut the assures and the
rocks cave in, as IL happened In the
Chicago tunnel. Should this happen the whole
thing would have TO be gone over and lined which
would be almost as much trouble and expense as
building a new tunnel We advised that IL should
be lined In the nrst place, and the Government en-
gineers know that 1t ought to be DONE but say
they haven't the money 70 pay for it."